Discovery and Structural Modification of 1-Phenyl-3-(1-phenylethyl)urea Derivatives as Inhibitors of Complement

The case for complement component 5 as a target in neurodegenerative disease

INTRODUCTION

Complement-based drug discovery is undergoing a renaissance, empowered by new advances in structural biology, complement biology and drug development. Certain components of the complement pathway, particularly C1q and C3, have been extensively studied in the context of neurodegenerative disease, and established as key therapeutic targets. C5 also has huge therapeutic potential in this arena, with its druggability clearly demonstrated by the success of C5-inhibitor eculizumab.

AREAS COVERED

We will discuss the evidence supporting C5 as a target in neurodegenerative disease, along with the current progress in developing different classes of C5 inhibitors and the gaps in knowledge that will help progress in the field.

EXPERT OPINION

Validation of C5 as a therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disease would represent a major step forward for complement therapeutics research and has the potential to furnish disease-modifying drugs for millions of patients suffering worldwide. Key hurdles that need to be overcome for this to be achieved are understanding how C5a and C5b should be targeted to bring therapeutic benefit and demonstrating the ability to target C5 without creating vulnerability to infection in patients. This requires greater biological elucidation of its precise role in disease pathogenesis, supported by better chemical/biological tools.

The interaction between the complement system and hemostatic factors

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To discuss the crosstalk between the complement system and hemostatic factors (coagulation cascade, platelet, endothelium, and Von Willebrand Factor), and the consequences of this interaction under physiologic and pathologic conditions.

RECENT FINDINGS

The complement and coagulation systems are comprised of serine proteases and are genetically related. In addition to the common ancestral genes, the complement system and hemostasis interact directly, through protein-protein interactions, and indirectly, on the surface of platelets and endothelial cells. The close interaction between the complement system and hemostatic factors is manifested both in physiologic and pathologic conditions, such as in the inflammatory response to thrombosis, thrombosis at the inflamed area, and thrombotic complications of complement disorders.

SUMMARY

The interaction between the complement system and hemostasis is vital for homeostasis and the protective response of the host to tissue injury, but also results in the pathogenesis of several thrombotic and inflammatory disorders.

Targeting complement cascade: an alternative strategy for COVID-19

The complement system is a stakeholder of the innate and adaptive immune system and has evolved as a crucial player of defense with multifaceted biological effects. Activation of three complement pathways leads to consecutive enzyme reactions resulting in complement components (C3 and C5), activation of mast cells and neutrophils by anaphylatoxins (C3a and C5a), the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC) and end up with opsonization. However, the dysregulation of complement cascade leads to unsolicited cytokine storm, inflammation, deterioration of alveolar lining cells, culminating in acquired respiratory destructive syndrome (ARDS). Similar pathogenesis is observed with the middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acquired respiratory syndrome (SARS), and SARS-CoV-2. Activation of the lectin pathway via mannose-binding lectin associated serine protease 2 (MASP2) is witnessed under discrete viral infections including COVID-19. Consequently, the spontaneous activation and deposits of complement components were traced in animal models and autopsy of COVID-19 patients. Pre-clinical and clinical studies evidence that the inhibition of complement components results in reduced complement deposits on target and non-target tissues, and aid in recovery from the pathological conditions of ARDS. Complement inhibitors (monoclonal antibody, protein, peptide, small molecules, etc.) exhibit great promise in blocking the activity of complement components and its downstream effects under various pathological conditions including SARS-CoV. Therefore, we hypothesize that targeting the potential complement inhibitors and complement cascade to counteract lung inflammation would be a better strategy to treat COVID-19.

Insight into potent leads for alzheimer's disease by using several artificial intelligence algorithms

Several proteins including S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), complement Factor D, complement 3b (C3b) and Protein Kinase R-like Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase (PERK), have been demonstrated to be involved in pathogenesis pathways for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and considered as potential treatment targets to AD. Based on the concept of multitargets, a network pharmacology-based approach was employed to investigate potential Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) candidates that can dock well with GSNOR, C3b, Factor D and PERK proteins. To predict the bioactivities of candidates, Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms composed of seven machine learning algorithms and a deep learning model were performed to validate the docking results. Furthermore, in this study, we propose a novel combined method for efficiently exploring the predicted results of AI algorithms. Besides, Comparative force field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) were performed to construct predicted models. The results show that the square correlation coefficients (R²) of all models are almost higher than 0.75, which also acquire good achievements on the test set. Moreover, the binding stability of the potential inhibitors were evaluated using 100 ns of MD simulation. Collectively, this study elucidate that the herbs Ardisia japonica, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Lippia nodiflora and Mirabilis jalapa containing 2,2'-[benzene-1,4-diylbis(methanediyloxybenzene-4,1-diyl)]bis(oxoacetic acid), Glyasperin B, Nodifloridin A, Miraxanthin III and l-Valine-l-valine anhydride might be a potential medicine formula for AD.

Ocular Disease Therapeutics: Design and Delivery of Drugs for Diseases of the Eye

The ocular drug discovery field has evidenced significant advancement in the past decade. The FDA approvals of Rhopressa, Vyzulta, and Roclatan for glaucoma, Brolucizumab for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), Luxturna for retinitis pigmentosa, Dextenza (0.4 mg dexamethasone intracanalicular insert) for ocular inflammation, ReSure sealant to seal corneal incisions, and Lifitegrast for dry eye represent some of the major developments in the field of ocular therapeutics. A literature survey also indicates that gene therapy, stem cell therapy, and target discovery through genomic research represent significant promise as potential strategies to achieve tissue repair or regeneration and to attain therapeutic benefits in ocular diseases. Overall, the emergence of new technologies coupled with first-in-class entries in ophthalmology are highly anticipated to restructure and boost the future trends in the field of ophthalmic drug discovery. This perspective focuses on various aspects of ocular drug discovery and the recent advances therein. Recent medicinal chemistry campaigns along with a brief overview of the structure-activity relationships of the diverse chemical classes and developments in ocular drug delivery (ODD) are presented.

A small-molecule inhibitor of C5 complement protein

The complement pathway is an important part of the immune system, and uncontrolled activation is implicated in many diseases. The human complement component 5 protein (C5) is a validated drug target within the complement pathway, as an anti-C5 antibody (Soliris) is an approved therapy for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Here, we report the identification, optimization and mechanism of action for the first small-molecule inhibitor of C5 complement protein.

Novel Trifluoromethylcoumarinyl Urea Derivatives: Synthesis, Characterization, Fluorescence, and Bioactivity

A series of novel trifluoromethylcoumarinyl urea derivatives were designed, synthesized, and characterized by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS. The fluorescence spectra of the target compounds were recorded. The spectra show that most of the title compounds glow green with λ_max^em of 500-517 nm, while compounds 5r, 5s, 5u, and 5l (compounds named by authors) glow violet with λ_max^em of 381-443 nm. Moreover, the herbicidal and antifungal activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their potential use as pesticides. The results indicate that compound 5f against the caulis of Amaranthusretroflexus and compounds 5j and 5l against the taproot of Digitariasanguinalis are equivalent to the commercial herbicide Acetochlor. Nine of the title compounds are more antifungal than commercial fungicide Carbendazim against Botrytis cinerea.